Americans United - Indianahttps://www.au.org/our-work/grassroots/indiana
enFreedom Follies: Ind. Catholic Diocese Learns That It Is Not Above The Lawhttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/freedom-follies-ind-catholic-diocese-learns-that-it-is-not-above-the-law
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">It’s a shame that the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese still doesn’t get it. The First Amendment certainly offers powerful protections for religious freedom, but it doesn’t give houses of worship the right to act with near impunity. Had a court accepted the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese’s argument, it would have opened the door to the idea that religious organizations are immune from prosecution and most laws.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>A church that tried to argue the First Amendment shields it from being hauled into any U.S. court just got hit with <a href="http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/courts/Jury-sides-with-fired-teacher-4094706">a $1.9 million judgment</a> after a jury ruled it had discriminated against a former Catholic school teacher who sought in vitro fertilization (IVF).</p><p><a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/first-amendment-fantasy-catholic-diocese-claims-to-be-outside-the-authority">It all started</a> back in 2012. Emily Herx, then an English teacher at St. Vincent de Paul School in Fort Wayne, Ind., was terminated just two weeks after she requested time off for an IVF procedure.</p><p>So Herx decided to sue both the school and the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese, claiming gender discrimination. Herx’s attorneys even provided evidence that the school had never fired a male teacher for using infertility treatment, so it seemed like she had a pretty good case.</p><p>Perhaps because of the existing evidence, the diocese came up with a radical and reckless argument: being forced to defend itself in court would be a violation of the church’s “religious freedom.”</p><p>“[If] the diocese is required to go through a trial,” it would “irrevocably” deny the diocese religious protections, the church’s attorneys argued.</p><p>The judge declined to buy into that rather sweeping claim, and the case proceeded. The Fort Wayne <em>Journal Gazette</em> reported that during the four-day trial, which concluded this week, the diocese threw just about everything it could at Herx in a nasty attempt to discredit her. The church’s legal team portrayed her as a possible drug addict who is emotionally unstable, and priests who testified for the diocese expressed contempt for Herx’s lack of remorse over her choice to undergo IVF.</p><p>But none of that swayed the jury, which found in Herx’s favor after more than five hours of deliberation.</p><p>“It’s been a very long and difficult fight,” Herx’s attorney, Kathleen DeLaney said. “I hope this can make some changes for women in the work place.”</p><p>The church, however, plans to fight on. The <em>Journal Gazette</em> said the diocese will take its case to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The diocese maintains that the case is a matter of “religious freedom” and one of its lawyers expressed anger that his client had to defend itself in court to begin with.</p><p>“It never should have brought the case to trial,” John Theisen, a diocesan attorney, said as he left the courthouse.</p><p>It’s a shame that the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese still doesn’t get it. The First Amendment certainly offers powerful protections for religious freedom, but it doesn’t give houses of worship the right to act with near impunity. Had a court accepted the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese’s argument, it would have opened the door to the idea that religious organizations are immune from prosecution and most laws.</p><p>That is, of course, an argument that none but the most extreme fundamentalists will ever embrace. It’s also an incredibly frightening possibility. But in a post-<em>Hobby Lobby</em> world, it’s likely that religious organizations will keep testing the limits of their new-found “freedoms.”</p><p>It’s also worth noting that Indiana has an extensive voucher program, and while we don’t know if St. Vincent de Paul School accepts voucher students, many schools just like it do. Lawmakers should understand that when they hand over taxpayer dollars to religious schools, they’re often subsidizing the kind of discrimination Herx experienced.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice">Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice in the Workplace</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/emily-herx">Emily Herx</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/fort-wayne-south-bend-diocese">Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/st-vincent-de-paul-school">St. Vincent de Paul School</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/in-vitro-fertilization">In Vitro Fertilization</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/our-work/grassroots/indiana">Indiana</a></span></div></div>Tue, 23 Dec 2014 17:26:10 +0000Simon Brown10761 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/freedom-follies-ind-catholic-diocese-learns-that-it-is-not-above-the-law#commentsFirst Amendment Fantasy: Catholic Diocese Claims To Be Outside The Authority Of Federal Courts https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/first-amendment-fantasy-catholic-diocese-claims-to-be-outside-the-authority
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">If a court were to accept the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese’s argument, it would open the door to the idea that religious organizations are immune from prosecution and most laws. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>It finally happened – a church has claimed that U.S. courts <a href="http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/davidbadash/catholic_church_says_federal_court_has_no_jurisdiction_over_it_because_religious_freedom">have no jurisdiction over it</a> because of its “religious freedom” rights. </p><p>This was inevitable. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in <em>Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores</em>, which said secular, for-profit corporations have the right to make highly personal medical decisions for their employees based purely on religious dogma, corporations are trying to see just how much freedom they’ve acquired. Given these sweeping new rights granted by – perhaps ironically – a federal court, it was only a matter of time before religious groups would get in on the act and test the limits of the <em>Hobby Lobby</em> decision for themselves.</p><p>This rather startling claim that courts don’t have any jurisdiction over a church grew out of a case brought by a former Catholic school teacher who was fired for trying in-vitro fertilization. In 2012, Emily Herx, then an English teacher at St. Vincent de Paul School in Fort Wayne, Ind., was terminated just two weeks after she requested time off for the procedure. (A monsignor reportedly called Herx a “grave, immoral sinner.”)</p><p>Herx sued the school and the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese, claiming gender discrimination. <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/11/catholic-school-fires-teacher-using-ivf-unusual-religious-freedom-defense"><em>Mother Jones</em> noted</a> that religious organizations are exempt from most anti-discrimination laws when it comes to hiring and firing, but gender discrimination is not protected – even for houses of worship.</p><p>Herx’s attorneys even provided evidence that the school has never fired a male teacher for using infertility treatment, so she may have a good case – even though the diocese countered that it would fire a man who used such treatments.</p><p>But seemingly just to cover all its bases, the diocese came up with a brazen and radical argument: its representatives should not even have to show up in court because courts can’t uphold “religious freedom” if they have the right to tell religious organizations what to do!</p><p>“[If] the diocese is required to go through a trial,” it would “irrevocably” deny the diocese religious protections, the church’s attorneys argued.</p><p>Ah, the old “persecution” defense. An employment discrimination lawsuit is hardly persecution, and this matter is not a justification for a church to essentially claim that no one has the right to challenge anything it does.</p><p>The irony is, the church can probably win this case without even going down this road. Courts have generally allowed religious schools to hire and fire as they see fit. It’s one thing to ask a court to uphold that right; it’s quite another to assert that an aggrieved party should have no power to take you to court and make his or her best case.</p><p>“What the diocese is saying is, ‘We can fire anybody, and we have absolute immunity from even going to trial, as long as we think they’re violating our religion,’” Brian Hauss, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, told <em>Mother Jones</em>. “And to have civil authorities even look into what we’re doing is a violation.’…It’s astonishing.”</p><p>Another ACLU attorney suggested that the church is wandering down a dangerous road.</p><p>“It’s an unusual and extreme argument, to be saying the court doesn’t even have the legal authority to ask whether this was, in fact, sex discrimination,” said Louise Melling, a deputy legal director at the ACLU. “I can’t imagine they would prevail on that. It’s too extreme.”</p><p>If a court were to accept the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese’s argument, it would open the door to the idea that religious organizations are immune from prosecution and most laws. They would be able to act with near impunity under the guise that “religious freedom” can only be preserved if religious organizations are totally free from any legal limitations or outside interference.</p><p>That is, of course, complete nonsense. It’s also an incredibly frightening possibility. It seems unlikely that a court would ever agree with the diocese’s argument, but should a court rule in the church’s favor, <em>Hobby Lobby</em> could one day seem like a fond memory.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice">Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice in the Workplace</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/reproductive-health-conscience-clauses-for-religious-objectors">Reproductive Health &amp; Conscience Clauses for Religious Objectors</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/fort-wayne-south-bend-diocese">Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/emily-herx">Emily Herx</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/st-vincent-de-paul-school">St. Vincent de Paul School</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/hobby-lobby">Hobby Lobby</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/our-work/grassroots/indiana">Indiana</a></span></div></div>Thu, 20 Nov 2014 18:10:45 +0000Simon Brown10682 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/first-amendment-fantasy-catholic-diocese-claims-to-be-outside-the-authority#commentsGrace Schools & Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend v. Burwellhttps://www.au.org/our-work/legal/lawsuits/grace-schools-diocese-of-fort-wayne-south-bend-v-burwell
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><div>As part of the Affordable Care Act's implementing regulations, group health plans are required to include coverage for various forms of preventative care, including all FDA-approved methods of contraception. Houses of worship are exempt from these requirements, and the Department of Health and Human Services later created a broader accommodation for certain nonprofit organizations. In particular, religious non-profit organizations may opt out of providing contraceptive coverage by certifying their religious objection; upon receiving this certification, the organization’s insurance company—or in the case of self-insured plans, its third-party administrator—steps in to provide the coverage. In August 2014, the government provided a second accommodation; religious nonprofit organizations now need only write a letter to the government in order to be relieved of any obligation to provide contraceptive coverage.</div><div> </div><div>Despite the accommodation, the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, as well as a number of affiliated Catholic charities, have challenged the accommodation in federal court. In October 2012, Grace Schools, a religiously affiliated college system, filed a separate lawsuit in the same court. The trial judge ruled in favor of these plaintiffs.</div><div> </div><div>The government appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In May 2014, we filed <a href="/files/legal_docs/2014-05-13%20AU%20Amicus%20Br%20as%20Filed.pdf">an amicus brief in support of the contraception regulations</a>. We argue that any burden on the nonprofit organizations’ religion is insubstantial and would be justified by a compelling governmental interest in women’s health, and that the regulations at issue are the least restrictive means of pursuing that interest. Finally, we argue that granting the relief sought by the plaintiffs would violate the Establishment Clause by inflicting significant harms on women and by giving religious organizations a veto over the flow of regulatory benefits.</div><div> </div><div>The case was argued in December 2014, and we await the court’s decision.</div><div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-federal-court field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Federal Court:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/federal-courts/us-court-appeals-seventh-circuit">U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit</a></div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice">Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice in the Workplace</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-refusals-and-rfra">Religious Refusals and RFRA</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-aus-role field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">AU&#039;s Role:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/au-role/amicus">Amicus</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-involvement-begin field-type-date field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">AU&#039;s Involvement Began:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">May 2014</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-chapter field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Chapters:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/chapters/indiana">Indiana</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-case-status field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Status:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/court-case-status/ongoing">Ongoing</a></div></div></div>Sun, 26 Oct 2014 22:22:37 +0000Gregory Lipper10625 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/our-work/legal/lawsuits/grace-schools-diocese-of-fort-wayne-south-bend-v-burwell#commentsGrote Industries, LLC v. Burwellhttps://www.au.org/our-work/legal/lawsuits/grote-industries-llc-v-burwell
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><div>As part of the Affordable Care Act's implementing regulations, group health plans are required to include coverage for various forms of preventative care, including all FDA-approved methods of contraception. Various secular, for-profit businesses with religious owners have filed lawsuits asserting that they cannot include contraception coverage in employee health plans without violating, among other things, their free exercise rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). </div><div> </div><div><div>Grote Industries is a for-profit corporation that manufactures vehicle safety systems. In October 2012, the company and its owners, the Grote family, filed suit to challenge the contraception regulations in federal court. After the trial court ruled against the corporation and its owners, they appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. </div><div> </div><div>In March 2013, we submitted <a href="/files/legal_docs/Brief%20of%20Amici%20Curiae%20Americans%20United%2C%20et%20al.%20%28March%2025%2C%202013%20ECF-stamped%29.pdf">an amicus brief in support of the government</a>. Later that year, the Seventh Circuit <a href="/files/legal_docs/Korte%20Grote%20CA7.pdf">ruled for the plaintiffs</a>.</div><div> </div><div>The Supreme Court then agreed to hear two cases brought by similar for-profit plaintiffs: <a href="https://www.au.org/our-work/legal/lawsuits/burwell-v-hobby-lobby-stores-inc">Hobby Lobby</a> and <a href="https://www.au.org/our-work/legal/lawsuits/conestoga-wood-specialties-corp-v-burwell">Conestoga Wood</a>. In June 2014, the Court held, in a 5-4 decision, that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act required an exemption for objecting for-profit corporations. The Supreme Court then denied review in the Grote case and left the Seventh Circuit’s ruling in place. </div><div> </div></div><p> </p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-federal-court field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Federal Court:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/federal-courts/us-court-appeals-seventh-circuit">U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/federal-courts/us-district-court-southern-district-indiana">U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana</a></div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice">Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice in the Workplace</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-refusals-and-rfra">Religious Refusals and RFRA</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-aus-role field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">AU&#039;s Role:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/au-role/amicus">Amicus</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-involvement-begin field-type-date field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">AU&#039;s Involvement Began:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">March 2013</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-case-status field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Status:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/court-case-status/closed">Closed</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-chapter field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Chapters:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/chapters/indiana">Indiana</a></div></div></div><span class="field field-name-field-address field-type-addressfield field-label-above" ><span class="field-label">Address:&nbsp;</span><span class="field addressfield field-item" ><span class="addressfield-citystate">IN</span></span></span>Sun, 12 Oct 2014 00:10:59 +0000Gregory Lipper10592 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/our-work/legal/lawsuits/grote-industries-llc-v-burwell#commentsConstitution Shmonstitution: Indiana Senator Wants Lord’s Prayer In Public Schoolshttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/constitution-shmonstitution-indiana-senator-wants-lord-s-prayer-in-public
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Kruse’s agenda is clear: make public schools into factories that turn out indoctrinated children.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>The mantra of Indiana state Sen. Dennis Kruse (R-Auburn) seems to be: “Darn the Constitution, full speed ahead!” When it comes to injecting public schools with official religion, he isn’t going to let the nation’s governing document stand in his way.</p><p>You may remember Kruse. In 2011, he proposed a bill that would have mandated the teaching of “creation science” alongside evolution in public schools. This year, he has proposed a similar <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/creationism-canard-the-last-thing-fundamentalists-want-is-open-inquiry-in">bill that would promote “critical inquiry</a>,” a euphemism for creationism, in the classroom.</p><p>Last year’s venture gained a lot of legislative support until some lawmakers <a href="https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/creationism-kicked-indiana-bill-killed-over-fears-of-costly-litigation?__utma=1.1123484512.1357143177.1357143177.1357312839.2&amp;__utmb=1.2.10.1357312839&amp;__utmc=1&amp;__utmx=-&amp;__utmz=1.1357312839.2.2.utmcsr=au.org%7Cutmccn=%28referral%29%7Cutmcmd=referral%7Cutmcct=/search/site/dennis%20kruse&amp;__utmv=-&amp;__utmk=86569496">realized it would have been blatantly unconstitutional</a>. It seems those same lawmakers are weary of Kruse’s “critical inquiry” bill, too. Rep. Bob Behning, (R-Indianapolis), chair of the House Education Committee, says he’s not inclined to bring it up.</p><p>But Kruse, who is chair of the Senate Education Committee, is not easily deterred. He has now come up with a new scheme that would <a href="http://www.indystar.com/article/20130103/NEWS05/130103032/Sen-Kruse-s-bill-would-allow-schools-require-saying-Lord-s-Prayer">permit public schools to require the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer</a> at the start of each day. The plan offers an opt-out for students who object.</p><p>The <em>Indianapolis Star</em> reported that Kruse’s fellow Republicans are focused on job creation this year rather than culture-war bills, so it’s not clear whether the measure will gain much support.</p><p>Senate President Pro Tempore David Long (R-Fort Wayne) expressed hesitation.</p><p>“My initial instincts were that it was probably unconstitutional,” Long told the <em>Star</em>. “It’s a clear violation of the interpretation of the First Amendment by the United States Supreme Court.”</p><p>Long showed sound reasoning there. He added that Kruse may have introduced the bill simply “to make a statement, not expecting a hearing.”</p><p>Kruse made a statement all right – that he doesn’t care much for the First Amendment or religious freedom. The U.S. Supreme Court has been very clear on coercive prayer in public schools: the Constitution doesn’t allow it.</p><p>But that’s not the only problem here. Which version of the Lord’s Prayer, exactly, would schools use? Did Kruse even consider that there are multiple forms of the prayer said by different denominations of Christianity?</p><p>Then there’s the opt-out cop-out, which Kruse seems to think would make this plan less legally problematic. It doesn’t, and anyone who opts out would likely face some form of ostracism by the majority. Schools are supposed to make all students feel welcome, not create an atmosphere where minorities get bullied.</p><p>Kruse’s agenda is clear: make public schools into factories that turn out indoctrinated children. What he doesn’t realize is that increasingly fewer Americans agree with him.</p><p>Philip Schwadel, a sociologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, studied data from 1974-2010 and found that since the mid-1970s, <a href="http://newsroom.unl.edu/blog/">overall support for school-sponsored prayer has fallen sharply.</a> In his soon-to-be published study, Schwadel noted that Roman Catholics and mainline Protestants now support school prayer at much lower rates than they did 35 years ago.</p><p>The one group that remains unwavering on official prayer in schools? Evangelical Christians, who support it to the tune of more than 70 percent.</p><p>There has been a lot of talk lately about prayer being the answer to the problems in our schools. The thing is, students are already free to pray as long as they aren’t disruptive or interfering with the rights of their classmates.</p><p>Permitting coercive prayer would create many problems and solve none. Kruse needs to drop his unconstitutional agenda and work on what his fellow Republicans say they care about most: creating jobs.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/creationism-evolution">Creationism &amp; Evolution</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/school-prayer">School Prayer</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/sen-dennis-kruse">Sen. Dennis Kruse</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/sen-david-long">Sen. David Long</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lords-prayer">Lord&#039;s Prayer</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/our-work/grassroots/indiana">Indiana</a></span></div></div>Fri, 04 Jan 2013 17:26:21 +0000Simon Brown7894 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/constitution-shmonstitution-indiana-senator-wants-lord-s-prayer-in-public#commentsMisguided Ministry: Indiana Public School Ends Youth Pastor’s Outreach https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/misguided-ministry-indiana-public-school-ends-youth-pastor-s-outreach
<a href="/about/people/joseph-l-conn">Joseph L. Conn</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Imagine the uproar if clergy representing Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Scientology or some other faith were given access to public school students.
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Should public schools allow clergy to come onto campus and proselytize students?</p><p>Of course not.</p><p>So it’s good to learn that an Indiana public school has cancelled a youth pastor’s lunchtime visits to Summit Middle School in Ft. Wayne. It’s just too bad that it took a lawsuit in federal district court to reach that reasonable result.</p><p>According to an <a href="http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121020/NEWS/310209976/1012/LOCAL">Associated Press account</a>, John and Linda Buchanan brought the legal action after a minister from a local church regularly stopped by their 11-year-old daughter’s school. The pastor reportedly handed out materials and moved from table to table, talking with the children.</p><p>Linda Buchanan told the AP that she and other parents were surprised to learn about the religious outreach and felt it was clearly wrong.</p><p>"We're not a bunch of heathens," Linda Buchanan said. "We're not anti-religion; we're anti-religion in public school."</p><p>The Buchanans’ lawsuit was filed with the help of the Indiana ACLU at 8:45 last Friday morning, and at 9:00 an attorney for the Southwest Allen County Schools called the civil liberties group to say that the clergy visits have ended.</p><p>I’m glad school officials took the right course of action. But I’m perplexed as to why it took federal litigation to get to this point.</p><p>Public schools serve children from many different faith traditions as well as some whose families follow no spiritual path at all. To allow a clergyman from The Chapel, an evangelical Christian church in Ft. Wayne, to have special access to students violates the rights of parents to raise their children as they see fit.</p><p>It is also a clear violation of the Constitution. The public school system, as an arm of the government, may not favor one religion over others or favor religion over non-religion.</p><p>Imagine the uproar if clergy representing Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Scientology or some other faith were given access to public school students.</p><p>Churches and other houses of worship are perfectly free to operate youth ministries. But they must not take advantage of the captive audience at public schools to win recruits.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-distributions-events-and-evangelism-during-school-day">Religious Distributions, Events and Evangelism during the School Day</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/our-work/grassroots/indiana">Indiana</a></span></div></div>Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:06:24 +0000Joseph L. Conn7654 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/misguided-ministry-indiana-public-school-ends-youth-pastor-s-outreach#comments Food First, Prayers Later At Indiana Pantryhttps://www.au.org/church-state/june-2012-church-state/au-bulletin/food-first-prayers-later-at-indiana-pantry
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p> </p><p>Staffers at a “faith-based” food pantry in Indiana must wait until after they distribute federally provided food before inviting clients to pray, thanks to a legal compromise.</p><p>Community Provisions of Jackson County, which opened in 1997, receives food to distribute to the needy through the federal Emergency Food Assistance Program. The organization had been asking applicants whether they would like to pray before they received food until state officials said the practice raised constitutional issues.</p><p>In order to continue to get federal aid, the organization agreed that Community Provisions would ask the people it assists if they want to pray only after they receive food.</p><p>Paul Brock, who started the pantry, told Religion News Service that he didn’t like the idea of changing the prayer policy, but he feared that the 300 people served by the organization wouldn’t get enough to eat without the federal help, which accounts for about 15 percent of the food served by Community Provisions.</p><p>Since so many religious organizations run food pantries, cases like this one are becoming increasingly common.</p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">AU Bulletin</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-subsidies-religious-institutions-not-including-schools">Other Government Subsidies of Religious Institutions</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-8188" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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The <span class="cs-month field">June</span> <span class="cs-year field"><span class="date-display-single">2012</span></span> issue of <em>Church &amp; State</em>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/june-2012-church-state/editorial/the-engel-prayer-ruling-protecting-freedom-of">The Engel Prayer Ruling: Protecting Freedom Of Conscience For 50 Years </a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/june-2012-church-state/people-events/pregnancy-crisis-centers-preach-and-discriminate">‘Pregnancy Crisis’ Centers Preach And Discriminate With Public Funds, Says Report</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/june-2012-church-state/au-bulletin/au-allied-groups-oppose-religious-profiling">AU, Allied Groups Oppose ‘Religious Profiling’</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/june-2012-church-state/au-bulletin/death-prayers-are-legal-texas-judge-rules">‘Death Prayers’ Are Legal, Texas Judge Rules</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/june-2012-church-state/au-bulletin/food-first-prayers-later-at-indiana-pantry"> Food First, Prayers Later At Indiana Pantry</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/june-2012-church-state/au-bulletin/russians-debate-political-role-of-orthodox-church">Russians Debate Political Role Of Orthodox Church</a></span> </div></li>
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</div></div></div>Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:00:00 +0000Americans United8199 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/church-state/june-2012-church-state/au-bulletin/food-first-prayers-later-at-indiana-pantry#commentsVouchers For This?: Catholic School Teacher In Indiana Fired For Using IVF https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/vouchers-for-this-catholic-school-teacher-in-indiana-fired-for-using-ivf
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Herx’s unfortunate situation shows exactly why taxpayers should not be forced to pay for religious school tuition.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>In what looks like another example of the Roman Catholic hierarchy’s “war against women,” an Indiana teacher said she was fired by the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend (Ind.) because she received in vitro fertilization.</p><p>Emily Herx, who is married and unable to conceive naturally, was told she was no longer welcome at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School because her choice to receive IVF makes her a <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-04/D9UC567O0.htm">“grave immoral sinner,”</a> according to the Associated Press. (The Catholic hierarchy is against IVF because the process requires the creation of extra embryos, which are later destroyed.)</p><p>Herx, who taught language arts for eight years and received outstanding performance reviews according to the AP, is now suing in federal court for unlawful termination. It remains unclear whether the school can fire her under the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent “<a href="http://www.au.org/our-work/legal/lawsuits/hosanna-tabor-v-eeoc">ministerial exception” holding</a>.</p><p>The Supreme Court said last year in <em>Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran School v. EEOC </em>that ministers who have been fired can’t sue their churches for violation of employment discrimi­nation laws.</p><p>But <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/teacher-fired-receiving-fertility-treatments/story?id=16205486#.T5lPd9WWrcs">according to ABC News</a>, Herx’s attorney, Kathleen Delaney, said, “The facts in this case are distinguishable. There is no ministerial exception. Ms. Herx didn't have religious training, did not teach religious doctrine.” </p><p>The diocese declined to comment to ABC on the case, but spokesman Sean McBride said, “It's sad day for our diocese and the St. Vincent's family. We're asking for prayers for our diocese and the Herx family.”</p><p>It’s ironic that Herx’s case came out of Indiana, because the state legislature there recently passed a massive voucher scheme to subsidize religious and other private schools. Like so many similar programs, it allows students to attend private schools, including religious ones, using taxpayer funds.</p><p>The Indiana Supreme Court is currently reviewing the constitutionality of the voucher plan, and Americans United weighted into the case in March. In our friend-of-the-court <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/teacher-fired-receiving-fertility-treatments/story?id=16205486#.T5lPd9WWrcs">brief</a>, AU noted that more than 99 percent of the nearly 4,000 participating students have so far used the vouchers to attend religious schools. State aid to religious schools clearly violates the separation of church and state.</p><p>Herx’s unfortunate situation shows exactly why taxpayers should not be forced to pay for religious school tuition. Many students who receive vouchers will inevitably attend parochial schools, which are free to teach religion, to discriminate on religious grounds in admissions and even claim a right to fire teachers based on adherence to religious doctrine – even if they aren’t Catholic and don’t teach religion!</p><p>Whether or not the diocese was permitted to fire Herx for being a “grave immoral sinner” is for a court to decide, and at this point, it’s hard to say what the outcome of that case will be. It should be perfectly clear, however, that states have no business forcing taxpayers to subsidize organizations that treat teachers (and women) this way.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice">Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice in the Workplace</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/emily-herx">Emily Herx</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/diocese-of-fort-wayne-south-bend">Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/st-vincent-de-paul-catholic-school">St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/war-against-women">war against women</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/our-work/grassroots/indiana">Indiana</a></span></div></div>Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:07:11 +0000Simon Brown7045 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/vouchers-for-this-catholic-school-teacher-in-indiana-fired-for-using-ivf#commentsIndiana School Vouchers Flout State Constitution, AU Advises Courthttps://www.au.org/church-state/may-2012-church-state/people-events/indiana-school-vouchers-flout-state-constitution-au
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Americans United has weighed in on a legal challenge to vouchers in Indiana, urging a state appeals court to strike down a newly minted program that directs taxpayer dollars to religious schools.</p><p>Americans United in March filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Meredith v. Daniels, a case that challenges the legality of the Choice Scholarship Program. AU asked the Indiana Court of Appeals to find the program unconstitutional because public funds go almost exclusively to religious schools.</p><p>Americans United Senior Litigation Counsel Gregory M. Lipper said the program is an affront to religious liberty.</p><p>“This voucher program violates the religious liberty provisions in the Indiana Constitution,” Lipper said. “Those provisions have been in place since 1851, and they were intended to prevent the sort of massive taxpayer subsidy of religion at issue here.”</p><p>The Americans United brief, filed March 12, cites ample Indiana history to demonstrate that drafters of the Indiana Constitution wanted to build a strong public school system and bar use of taxpayer funds for religious schools.</p><p>In the brief, Americans United notes that Caleb Mills, a Christian minister and the state’s most prominent 19th-century proponent of strengthening public education, urged legislators to fund only public schools and warned that if taxpayer funds were used for denominational schools, it would jeopardize the social and political fabric.</p><p>“Proponents of the common schools not only sought to take affirmative steps to provide for a public education, but also recognized the need to prevent diversion of funds to private, religious schools,” the AU brief asserts. “Indeed, although he was himself a Christian minister, Caleb Mills warned convention delegates about the diversion of public funds to religious schools.”</p><p>The brief quotes Mills as saying, “Let every pious man and good citizen give his countenance, patronage and influence to the enterprise of elevating common schools to the highest point of improvement and then they will be good enough <em>for every one</em> and prove rich blessing <em>to all</em>.”</p><p>The ban on taxpayer assistance to religion was broad, the AU brief says, and did not target Catholic schools or any other specific religious community. Some state constitutions have provisions that critics describe as “Blaine amendments” – named for 19th-century U.S. Sen. James G. Blaine – that were allegedly aimed primarily at barring public funding for Catholic parochial schools.</p><p>The Indiana “no aid” provision, however, was passed in 1851, 24 years before Blaine introduced his amendment in Congress. AU’s brief reports that there is no indication that anti-Catholic sentiment played any role in the adoption of the Indiana church-state separation language.</p><p>Indiana’s voucher program, passed in 2011, is the broadest of its kind in the United States. It permits even parents of middle-class children to use taxpayer money to send their children to private schools, the overwhelming majority of which are sectarian.</p><p>Nearly 98 percent of participating private schools are religious in character. Two-thirds are Catholic, with almost all of the rest coming from various Protestant perspectives. (Two participating schools are Islamic.)</p><p>A few days after AU filed the brief, the Indiana Supreme Court announced it would hear a direct appeal of the case, bypassing the need for an appellate court hearing. The Americans United brief and others that were filed will be automatically transferred to the Indiana Supreme Court.</p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">People &amp; Events</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/vouchers">Vouchers</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-7000" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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<h2><a href="/church-state/may-2012-church-state">
The <span class="cs-month field">May</span> <span class="cs-year field"><span class="date-display-single">2012</span></span> issue of <em>Church &amp; State</em>
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</div></div></div>Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:53:32 +0000Susan Hansen7015 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/church-state/may-2012-church-state/people-events/indiana-school-vouchers-flout-state-constitution-au#commentsBill Advocating Creationism Dies In Indiana House Due To Lawsuit Concernhttps://www.au.org/church-state/april-2012-church-state/people-events/bill-advocating-creationism-dies-in-indiana-house
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>A bill that would have mandated the teaching of creationism in Indiana’s public schools died recently over fears that it would spark costly lawsuits.</p><p>SB 89 passed the Indiana Senate Feb. 1. Sponsored by longtime creationism advocate Sen. Dennis Kruse (R-Auburn), the measure would have mandated that science courses offered at public schools include theories on the origins of life on Earth from several religions, naming Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Scientology as examples.</p><p>Critics, including Americans United, pointed out that the measure was patently unconstitutional. Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) apparently shared those concerns and decided to table the legislation.</p><p>“It seemed to me not to be a productive discussion, particularly in light that there is a United States Supreme Court case that appears to be on point that very similar language is counter to the Constitution,” Bosma said, according to the Indianapolis <em>Star</em>. “It looked to me to be buying a lawsuit when the state can ill afford it.”</p><p>Kruse said he was disappointed and vowed to push his proposal again next year. He insisted that the high court might be willing to revisit the issue of creationism.</p><p>Although the Indiana bill failed, that does not mean the state’s public schools are free of creationism. Some schools are apparently teaching it anyway.</p><p>Devan Filchak, a sophomore at Ball State University, recently wrote a column about her shock when creationism appeared at her high school.</p><p>“I was surprised when my science teacher pulled up a video of the seven days of creation during class,” Filchak wrote in the <em>Ball State Daily News</em>. “The video was not only cheesy, but it crossed a line that is unconstitutional.”</p><p>She continued, “When I showed my distaste, my teacher picked on me, prodding me until I finally admitted I am agnostic in front of the whole class. For about three or four days, the teacher brought up religion. I was upset, but I wasn’t sure who to talk to about it at first.”</p><p>In other news about creationism:</p><p><strong>•</strong> <strong>Americans United has written to</strong> the New Hampshire House’s Education Committee, urging the panel to oppose legislation that would promote creationism.</p><p>HB 1148 would “require evolution to be taught in public schools as a theory, including the theorists’ political and ideological viewpoints and their positions on the concept of atheism.”</p><p>Amanda Rolat, AU’s state legislative counsel, advised the committee that the measure is legally flawed.</p><p>“The result of this bill would inevitably be litigation, because it explicitly disparages evolution and invites discussion of atheism in the science classroom,” Rolat wrote. “This is wholly unconstitutional.”</p><p>On Feb. 16, the committee voted to dismiss the bill.</p><p><strong>• Alabama legislators are moving forward</strong> with a plan to expand released-time programs as a way of allowing students to study creationism during the school day. A bill sponsored by Rep. Blaine Galliher, a Republican from Rainbow City, would allow local schools to establish released-time programs for high school students.</p><p>The <em>Birmingham News</em> reported that Galliher introduced HB 133 “at the request of one of his constituents, Joseph Kennedy, a member of Southside Baptist Church near Gadsden. Kennedy said he would like to see a non-profit group teach creationism to public school students if Galliher’s bill becomes law.”</p><p>Under released-time programs, students have the option to leave school grounds during the day for a period of religious instruction taught off site by private groups. Under Galliher’s plan, students would receive academic credit for the religious classes.</p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">People &amp; Events</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/creationism-evolution">Creationism &amp; Evolution</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-6885" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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</div></div></div>Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:46:30 +0000Susan Hansen6910 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/church-state/april-2012-church-state/people-events/bill-advocating-creationism-dies-in-indiana-house#comments